Tragic Monsters
by Jaal Ama Darav
Summary: Oh the shuttle ride from the Kett Exaltation Facility to the Resistance base, Jaal's inner emotions and thoughts rage.


**T****ragic Monsters **

**A/N- 1,000 words or less promptfic. The prompt I am going with is the TV trope- 'Heroic BsoD' **

**natsora gave me very helpful advice regarding description, and I greatly appreciate it! **

**Putting the advice to use here, to practice with it ****before I update the first chapter of Standing Strong and Staying Clear Together. **

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Jaal Ama Darav sat in the seat at the rear of the Angaran shuttle as it flew through the blizzards of Voeld.

He had lost count of how many times the horrific scene in the facility played out in his mind. The Angara being injected with something. Twitching and convulsing while screaming in sheer agony, his bones cracking and breaking while his skin turned black and bony armor grew. And becoming yet another soldier for the Kett cause who shot at him, Sakura, and Peebee like any other Kett did.

The Angara sighed, head bowed, tears stinging his eyes and threatening to spill. _How many __of my people turned Kett have I killed? W__ho did I kill earlier? Was it Mrrach? Was it a missing family member? A friend I knew? _

Memories of the missing filled his mind. His truefather Vajen Ama Darav, his older brother Taalre and Allia, Kosaan, his sister Noriine, too many to count. _Are they slaves? Or were they Exalted and I killed them, not knowin__g __whose life I was ending? _The tears finally rolled down the Angara's cheeks in earnest. And sobs escaped.

This gained the attention of the female Angara squad leader, Shevaad, who glanced in his direction. "Jaal, are you okay?"

_Skkut...can't tell her… _He looked at her, cheeks still wet with tears. "Apologies, was just thinking of how much the Moshae must have suffered at the hands of the Kett. She was my mentor, even if I was a terrible student."

Shevaad nodded in sympathy. "She will recover, the Kett have not stolen our light, and they won't ever again. I'd die before I let them take her again."

Jaal nodded slightly, looking down to the floor and noting the tiny puddles his teardrops left. "Same here."

His mind drifted to the non-combatants the Angara Resistance protected; and the members of the Angara Resistance, new and old. _What will this do to Resistance morale. To those not fighting? _

And the common Angaran religious belief of reincarnation. _What does this mean for the souls of those Exalted. Are they lost forever? Never to be reborn? _He felt sick to his own stomach, he had his own share of close calls of almost being taken. What if he had been captured by the Kett and turned; and one of his family or friends killed him, not knowing it was him? What if it was Sakura herself that had done so, or a member of her team?

Over his raging emotions and thoughts, he heard the Angara pilot's voice. "ETA Resistance base seven minutes."

He looked to his right, at Moshae Sjefa, now safe and out of the filthy claws of the Kett. She was sleeping and safely restrained in her seat. _What did she suffer? Her mind was clearly not in the right place. _

Jaal has spoken to Kallo, several hours before the mission, about the Tempest and the speeds it was capable of. And specified a Voeld to Aya run. Shortest at maximum Faster Than Light thrust would be seventeen Andromeda Initiative standard hours. Cruise speed would be close to thirty hours, and he could adjust the speed and shorten or extend the length of the journey if needed. _If those on Aya saw the __Moshae__ in this state...__knowing her __she might request the journey be extended by a few days. _

He turned his attention to the seats along right side of the shuttle. One of the three Angara Resistance members, Ifri, who had helped provide covering fire before being injured was resting; eyes closed. His facial expression still showed pain, and the bandage covering the wound on his side was stained blue. He would live, with proper treatment.

To his left, leaning on his shoulder, asleep as well, was his Asari teammate Peebee. _Biotics. Asari are __truly__ strong, __will__ recommend __assigning__ those...need to verify- Asari Commandos- to Resistance units. _

To the Angara's left was Pathfinder Sakura Ryder. He took in her earth brown skin, straight black hair, and her white and blue Pathfinder armor. _Her hug...felt genuine. And her and Peebee's determination to protect me and the __Moshae__. And what they did after __Ifri__ was shot. _He felt something warm inside, but pushed it aside, unsure of what to make of it. _She is...strange...yet…_

He could still see, after ensuring the Moshae was safely in her seat and turning around, Ifri being shot. The other Resistance fighter and Shevaad helping him, Sakura and Peebee turning their barrier into an absolutely powerful shock-wave which blew away anything and everyone in its path including fiends. Such power it had that metal warped and buckled while it traveled outward. He believed, for a moment, the platform itself would give away, sending any Kett survivors falling to their deaths hundreds of meters below.

It had obviously been very taxing, he would have to wake them when they arrived at the Resistance base.

Jaal allowed a ghost of a smile. _The Angara and the __Initiative__ standing side by side against the Kett...there is real hope after all. _

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**A/N- **

**Vajen Ama Darav is my name for Jaal's father until canon gives him one. And the 'truefather' term, I figured if the Angara have a 'truemother' why not a 'truefather'? **

**Taalre is the name of Jaal's older brother that Allia ended up with. **

**Kosaan- I was inspired by the fact Jaal is Bi, as well as terriblush's story Uncertainties. **

**Noriine is one of Jaal's sisters, I figured at least one...went missing due to the Kett. **


End file.
